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A message to the “Post Banters”

Or maybe this is a message to the pre-banters, I’m not sure yet. We’ll see how this goes.

This post is NOT a Banting debate.

This post is not about convincing you not to get on the Banting Bus. I guess this is for those of you getting off the bus.

Lately it has become impossible to disclose that you are a dietitian without being asked your opinion on the Banting diet. And it seems that wherever you find yourself, there’s bound to be one person on the diet, and another strongly against it. The diet has become increasingly popular.

At the same time, in my private practice, I’ve been seeing a lot of what I call the “Post Banting effect”. Let me explain this concept:

You see most people who are kinda trying to eat healthily without following a specific diet would usually have a diet that is moderate to high in carbohydrates (starches like rice, potatoes, bread also fruit, sugar etc.) with a moderate amount of protein (meat, legumes). And because fat was always believed to be the bad guy, these people would aim for a diet that is low in fat. This may be achieved by having low fat dairy, having lean meat and removing skin from chicken etc.

Enter the Banting Diet 🙂

The hardest part for most people starting the diet is cutting down on carbs. I know there are some who don’t struggle with this, but for most people is it HARD. BUT this is made somewhat easier because suddenly fat is the good guy. And you can go big on bacon and chicken skin and double cream everything. This is the part everyone likes.

This is great for a while, until it’s not

And this is what I’ve seen a lot of in my practice. So many people have tried this way of eating for a period, generally ranging from 1 month to about 6 months. When people stop the diet, all that changes is that carbs make a come-back. And there to welcome carbs is your NBF (that’s new best friend) FAT. The high fat lifestyle is hard to get out of, and most people don’t even realise how used to fat they’ve become – full cream milk, double cream yoghurt, butter, the fat on your steak.

This is the post banting effect. It is a diet that is now high in carbs, high in fat, high in everything basically. This diet is dangerous and puts you in a worse off position than you were before you even felt the need to start a diet.

For those of you who have tried Banting for a while and then been shocked at how easily you have regained the weight (and more!) once you’ve stopped, this is why.

I know I have generalised grossly, but this is what I see a lot of in my practice. I’d love to hear from people who have not had this experience, maybe you could help me help my clients 🙂